3 keys to Jets ending 5-game losing streak when they face the Titans on Sunday

By Manish Mehta

Dec 01, 2018 | 12:55 PM

The Jets will look to snap their five-game losing streak in Tennessee. Here’s how they can make it happen:

STOP THE RUN

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Communication breakdowns, over-aggressive defenders and some good ol’ fashioned Hero Ball have contributed to two brutal games against the run for Todd Bowles’ defense. Gang Green has been gashed for more than 200 yards on the ground in each of their past two losses. Non-quarterbacks have racked up 430 yards on 78 attempts (5.5 yards per attempt).

That stinks to high heaven.

Bowles maintained that the issues will be corrected by “staying in our gaps and being disciplined at key times in the ball game.”

“They understand where they need to be,” Bowles said. “It's a different guy here and there that's doing too much. We'll clean that up.”

They better or they’re going to be carved up by Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis.

“Lewis is kind of powerful himself and Henry is kind of shifty,” Bowles said of the Titans’ 1-2 backfield punch. “So, they both do a little bit of both. You don't see any difference in the way they run the football with either of them. One's not outside, one's not inside. They both kind of do the same thing, but when you have two good running backs interchanged like that you've just got to be on your toes at all times.”

Sprinkle in mobile quarterback Marcus Mariota, who has 282 rushing yards and a pair of scores, and it’ll be a challenge for a Jets defense that ranks 27th against the run giving up 128.2 yards per game on the ground.

“It's a big challenge because he can really run the football,” Bowles said of Mariota. “When you concentrate on that, he can really throw the football. So, the mobility as far as blitzing him and not blitzing him and covering the wideouts they have and trying to deal with the running backs and the tight ends with a huge offensive line is tough. I think they have a good system and he is working it to perfection right now.”

Jets shakes hands with Patriots' Bill Belichick after fifth straight loss. Bowles will have to devise a scheme to stop the Titans' ground game if he doesn't want to lose his sixth in a row Sunday. (Seth Wenig / AP)

CREATE A TURNOVER… OR TWO… OR THREE

Remember when the Jets had five takeaways in their season-opening rout over the Lions? I barely do. It seems like ages ago when Bowles’ defense appeared to be one of the most opportunistic units in the league.

It’s no coincidence that Gang Green’s five-game takeaway drought has highlighted their five-game losing streak. It’s hard to win games when you don’t win the turnover battle… and the Jets have done very little of that for two months.

Think about it: Gang Green has a grand total of 10 takeaways in the past 10 games. Brutal.

“It's not mind-boggling, but you want to get them,” Bowles said. “We work on them all the time and they come in bunches. We've had our hand on a few. We've just got to come down with them.”

Players have told me that simple in-game reminders in the huddle and on the sideline can help, but nothing has changed for nearly a month and a half.

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One way to enhance their chances, of course, is getting consistent heat on Mariota. Nobody has allowed more sacks in the AFC than Tennessee (36), so this could be a get-well game for guys like Leonard Williams, Henry Anderson and Brandon Copeland.

The good news: An uncomfortable Mariota could lead to turnovers.

The bad news: Mariota has played his best football in the past month. The young quarterback has had passer ratings of 119.9, 125.0 and 147.7 in three of his last four games. He’s thrown for six touchdowns with only one interception during that span. He’s coming off a 22-for-23 performance (with no turnovers) against the Texans.

Mariota, frankly, looks much better than the guy who struggled in the beginning of the season with a nerve injury in his elbow that made it hard to feel the ball in his hand. Only Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Kirk Cousins have a higher completion percentage than Mariota (70.3).

PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK… BY RUNNING MORE

I’m not advocating for an old-school smash-mouth approach, but the Jets pass-run imbalance (50 pass calls and 12 run calls) last week isn’t a good idea.

Besides, the Titans have looked shaky against the run in recent weeks. Mike Vrabel’s team gave up 281 yards on the ground in last week’s loss to the Texans. The Jets obviously don’t have the type of dangerous dual-threat quarterback like a DeShaun Watson, but Lamar Miller did enough damage on his own to give hope that Isaiah Crowell and/or Eli McGuire can make a difference on Sunday.

Colts’ running backs (25 carries for 105 yards, 2 TDs) also had some success against Tennessee two weeks ago.

Jeremy Bates doesn’t need to have an equitable run-pass split, but it’s not a great idea to dial up four or five times as many passes than runs this week.